Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[Charon]

Legacies let out a rictus grin. "So we have full orders to let loose, no prisoners? I assume we shall have to stay in a group?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Prisoners are valuable, but yes, we are going to cut loose" said Blackheart. "Winning first, prisoners second."

[LadyTevar]

"So no crushing and drowning them in a pool?" Argent had to quip.

[Cynical Cat]

"I don't fucking care if you garrote them with a diamond necklace and then pocket it as long as it happens fast and mean," said Blackheart. "These are the big boys, the worst of the worst. We're going to do what has to be done."

[SirNitram]

"The only request I'll make is that you confirm the kill." Gravitas said. "Now. I will need a large breakfast and some steel wool." Then, he levitated a plate probably intended for him over to himself and began wolfing it down.

[Charon]

Legacies nodded. "Treat them like Abaddon. Got it." Legacies sat down again to relax, preparing himself mentally for what was coming. His hand rubbing his chest where the Knife was safely stashed.

[LadyTevar]

Definately not the response she expected from either man. But her wits were quick. "Waste of good diamonds, the blood would get between them and they'd need restrung. Steelwool is under the sink."

[frigidmagi]

Blast, go on an charge up, if you're coming. Take who you want as long as you can do it quick."

"Right, be back soon boss." Blast said getting up and heading over to where Collin was crashed out. He woke up the Spedster and grinned.

"Wanna help a guy steal some power?" He asked.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot eyed over his units, then looked to the serious discussion going on nearby. He put down his controller and shrugged, there'd be time for this sort of thing later. He didn't like the way the discussion was going. Blasting into a place full of big nasty things with no clue of which way was up, down, left, or right.

"Um, hey guys, we might not have a map, but someone must. I mean, you couldn't make something that big without someone knowing something, right? I have to say, I don't like the idea of running in someplace blind."

He looked over at Blast and nodded, "Yeah, sure I guess. I still have those boxes we grabbed from Saibot's place, you can use those, right?"

[SirNitram]

"Okay. Where would the plans be?" Gravitas sighed gently. This was the problem. No one was going beyond 'Well, they must exist'. "This is not the sort of facility you drop plans off at the local city hall for. Internal dimensions indicated each room being quite large, and forty foot sections of stone between the floors I could perceive. Elevator shafts moved between two floors apeice. If you have an idea of where there could be a map, please, put that forward."

[LadyTevar]

Argent listened to the brief description Gravitas gave.

"Sounds like they were wanting to make sure nothing got out... much less in."

She looked over at Hotfoot. "Last time Blast charged from the Ring Box it gave him a headache. However... the power in the Box does -not- like Demonics, so if that effect transfers over Blast may do more damage." She looks to Gravitas. "I believe the second Box we found will recharge the Ring you have."

[Hotfoot]

Collin shrugged. "Well given that regular folk had to be a part of the construction process, what about any construction firms in the general area? Even if they weren't hired, they would know who was because they'd be pretty pissed about not getting the contract themselves. Unless you're gonna tell me that they burned all the blueprints and mindwiped everyone they hired. Even if they did, it would take us, what, three hours to check it out? We're going to have to get Blast and your ring juiced up anyway, and I need to chow down myself if we're going to jumping in, so I don't see the harm in trying, do you?"

[SirNitram]

"Why do you think any mortal had a hand in constructing it?" Gravitas raised a brow. "The thing's inside a mountain with no obvious entrance. It has access to the legions of every Bad Afterlife there is. I can assure you, if they did hire workers, they are not your average construction company. And I don't think they mindwiped anyone; more likely they tortured anyone involved into a slow death, ensuring they cursed whatever religion they followed badly enough that their soul was consumed."

A shrug. "Fine. It'll take me that long to eat, charge, and weaken the bindings. If you find something, great."

[Hotfoot]

"First off, this whole thing is part of a supposedly legit company, right? Why wouldn't they have kept part of it above board to hide the massive amounts of money they'd have to have sunk into it? Shit like this doesn't happen without someone knowing somewhere, and I don't see why you're so damned dead set against even looking. I'd rather know something than nothing, and it's never a good idea to go running into something you can't run out of. Yeah, we might not find anything, but it's not like we're really risking much if we look, and we DO find something, that could be pretty useful."

His eyes narrowed in irritation. Things like research should be simple for this guy, hell, even his mother knew about doing research before making any major decisions, why was this like pulling teeth? One word stuck in his head, arrogance. He glanced to Li Na and then to Blast, not sure of where exactly to turn. Part of him wanted to help out Blast, but the other part wanted to take Li Na and have her teleport him somewhere he could do something...

[LadyTevar]

"Hotfoot... why do you think he's been locked in the basement the last three days?" Argent interrupted. "Or did you and Blast miss that while setting up the game systems down here and playing all hours?"

No, she's not feeling the tension rising in here and acting out on it. She's also not pointing out that Blast and Hotfoot were doing nothing but goofing around.

"Gravitas and Blackheart are right. There's going to be no maps, and teleporting around inside is going to be difficult." She looked over at Blackheart ruefully, then back to Hotfoot. "In or out, Collin."

[Hotfoot]

"I don't know what he was doing down in the dungeon, and given the layout I wasn't terribly interested in finding out. Bad enough I wandered down there once in the first place." And right back at her. Collin may have been an only child, but he knew how to bicker well enough. "But hey, fine, let's say there isn't a map, it makes no sense. People go in, they don't leave, there's no map, and this place is huge. Either a lot of people went missing somewhere, or we're dealing with hell on earth, literally."

[SirNitram]

"The latter." Gravitas said dryly. "Definitely the latter. Are we going to continue this? I can give you access to my laptop, which has everything I was able to gather. I will be busy preparing myself."

[Marcao]

The discussion shifted back and forth.

Until this moment he had chosen to remain silent for a myriad of reasons. With every passing day he felt more and more comfortable with the internal dynamics of team Mirage. He no longer perceived himself purely as an outsider looking in but he could truly say that he was part of the team. He did not know everyone as well as he would like, but that would come with time. He had come to know one person rather well and he had not regretted his decision.

It was the exchange between Gravitas and Hotfoot that caught his attention. Li Na had been glancing in his direction every so often and he was uncertain if it was purely because she liked what she saw or because she needed reassurance. He offered her a small smile, assuring her without words that he would be there with her when they walked through the dark places that lay before them. He took a deep breath and held it before he found himself speaking.

"I can see both sides of the argument and the truth is, we know very little." He paused, letting his words sink in and hopefully get their attention before he continued.

"I agree with Blackheart with his assertion that if we decide to go through with this, we have to go in hard and fast. Hesitation of any kind might get one or all of us killed." He glanced towards Li Na almost subconsciously. Team Mirage was a singular entity, logically no life should be worth more than another. But Logic had nothing to do with what he felt toward her.

"I also agree with the sentiment that the creation of this den of vipers that Gravitas and Blackheart have discovered may very well have been done so at the hands of the supernatural. If that is the case, finding anything of use will be difficult at best." He paused. "Nonetheless, I agree with Hotfoot in that all options should be exhausted before we proceed. If we can make an effort to gather more intelligence, we should make that effort."

He sighed softly. "The problem is time. Even if Hotfoot is correct and some firm somewhere has a map or a copy of these plans, the issue is finding that information on a timely manner without tipping our hand. We are on a tight schedule from what I understand and every day that passes is potentially a day where our enemies get stronger. Nonetheless, a balance has to be found between speed and thoroughness. As satisfying as the prospect of breaking down some doors or bypassing them all together." He glanced at Gravitas and nodded his head acknowledging the man's talents. "We can't afford mistakes at this junction."

He did not know nearly as much about RCE as they did. He had not dealt with the demon that they had dealt with himself. As such, his words may not carry the same weight as original members of Team Mirage. Still, he felt justified in airing his concerns. Was he the only one aside from Hotfoot with concerns about charging what could very well be a slice of hell blind?

[frigidmagi]

"I didn't get a 'headache' I got the grandmother of all hangovers. I'd rather just take advantage of Hotfoot's speed and tap the city power grid. Also why are we arguing about a map no one even knows exists? Let's get moving." Blast weighted in.

[LadyTevar]

Argent's head turned, listening closely to Tachyon as he spoke. He was the only other true Ultima Agent with them, so he had experience. She had also discovered that his quiet manner hid a very sharp mind that thought things through before he spoke.

Thus, when he spoke, she listened intently, watching him as he summed up the arguments. Her eyes met his when he glanced her way, nodding slightly to acknowledge his concern. As Tachyon point out succinctly that they did not really have time to waste, she had to agree as she toyed with the food on her plate.

"So... how long do we wait? Nightfall or dawn?" she asked once Tachyon had finished speaking.


======

Tholos had stayed out of Mirage team's way as much as possible after that first night. He strived to be a quiet guest, while mourning his old companion silently. The one called 'Gravitas' or Mike was the one he had spoken to most. The rune-covered man had told him Tasat's fate, which had been far kinder than he may have deserved: taken to the River of Forgetfulness and freed of his burdens.

This morning, Tholos had slipped into the main gathering room quietly, taking up a plate of fruit and pastries and seating himself silently to watch the miracle of 'vid-e-o gam-ming' that the youngest warriors shown him.

When Blackheart came and spoke of the raid, Tholos remained quiet, listening to the debate. It was not his place to speak in their War Council, so he kept his thoughts to himself and simply listened.

[Charon]

Legacies looked at Tachyon. "We understand all the concerns of running in blind. If there are plans to the building or a list of personel, that would be wonderful. But we are running with only the intel we can recieve ourselves." Legacies paused as the almost blank faceplate stopped to look at Tholos.

"I believe I have just come upon an idea. Tholos, you are, in a sense, demon-spawned are you not? And you stated you broke free from the facilities? What do you believe your fate would be were you to return? If you don't think you'll be executed immediately. We may be able to have Argent keep tabs on you through her connection, give you some time to collect information, and we can use you as a homing beacon for teleportation when we need to assault."

[LadyTevar]

"We may be able to have Argent keep tabs on you through her connection, give you some time to collect information, and we can use you as a homing beacon for teleportation when we need to assault."

"No."

Argent's voice was low, sharp, and blunt. "I am not linking to him, Legacies."

[Charon]

Legacies looked between the two, then looked over to Blackheart. He was leader and it would be his call in the end, as far as Legacies was concerned. But considering the reactions the symbiote was smart enough to drop the issue.

[Cynical Cat]

"One, they sent an hunter team after him," said Blackheart. "I don't think he'll be welcome. Two, Argent greatly dislikes linking with him. Send him in first and we're probably just sending him into the meat grinder and letting them know we are coming."

[Cynical Cat]

"Any other objections?" Blackheart asked.